Bang! - The Sound Of One Less Mosquito!

Like mosquitoes swarming around an exposed body part, homophobic bigots seem to make complete cliché’s of themselves in their crusade of the uneducated – the quest of the ignorant. 

 

One could also draw stark comparisons between bigots and their fellow bloodsuckers, and I frequently do. I thought I would include a few insights into the arguments used against us GLBTI advocates in the last while, just for your entertainment (and mine) - and to provide answers to these, while swatting a few bugs.

The End Is Nigh!

On Sunday morning I enjoyed a quiet relaxing walk hand-in-hand along the beach front with my girlfriend. 

 

On the way back we enjoyed looking at the stalls and were quite surprised to find one peddling religious fundamentalism as if it were a brand new bicycle. Signs pinned to the tent displayed the words "The End Is Nigh" and "It is closer than you think!" along with various other forms of bizarre and nauseating rhetoric and "Christian nationalist" propaganda. 

 

Strangely enough, there were a few people actually chatting to the stall owners, enthusiastically grinning from ear to ear, presumably gleaning finer details of this impending and absolutely certain doom, probably with exact time and date and instructions on what to do if "left behind". 

 

It was hard for me to resist strolling over and asking what date and time I should put in Google Calendar to mark this event, presumably with a 15 minute reminder just in case I miss it - or if I should lie down and put a brown paper bag over my head while I wait.

Pink Elephants, Red Herrings And Gay Rights Activists

It confuses and disappoints the heck out of me when people standing in the shoes of gay activists start to argue that gay activists should be concentrating on other issues like racism or xenophobia instead of protecting or advancing gay rights. "Hello, it's the plumber - I've come to fix your TV."

I always thought that we as gay rights activists (supposedly) stand against heterosexism, homophobia, transphobia, discrimination and prejudice on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Yet some prominent (presumably) gay rights advocates in SA have criticized gay rights activists who pay attention to gay rights issues instead of tackling issues like racism and xenophobia.

Right.

Copping Out

Recently it has come to my attention that some of our SA girls are still having difficulties with transphobia. Yes, I know - it isnt exactly a new thing. Like homophobic hate crimes, transphobia (fear or loathing of transgender people) still exists and inspires hate crimes of its own. However, it seems people exposed to transphobia are either keeping quiet about it or the authorities are refusing to do something about it.

Civility Costs Nothing

Centuries ago, people were more isolated and clustered together in like-minded groups. For example, whole countries and even continents followed just one religion, or spoke one language, hardly ever setting eyes on anyone who followed another or spoke other languages.

Though we may not really recognize it today, significant population shifts and migrations often led to conflict and political upheaval. It seems to be a basic human instinct to fear the unknown and even loathe it - but with knowledge and understanding come tolerance and enlightenment, but to get to that stage people first have to get past their fear and loathing.

The idea that all people can and should live together in peace is not really a new one -

but yet in practice, it is very young indeed.

Humans Are Funny Animals

Many detractors of the gay rights movement have spent the past thirty years or more criticizing it as somehow asking for "special rights".

George Orwell in his masterpiece "Animal Farm" which was a pertinent statement on the turmoil of post fascist western society and differing political ideologies (and almost a prequel to "1984") stated "All animals are equal - but some animals are more equal than other animals".

One can see warning signs of a harsh resentment and bitter distaste and disrespect for the humanity of other people in statements like "gay rights are 'special' rights". Often the fights in the past against slavery and racial prejudice are compared with the modern struggle for GLBT equal rights and all manner of interesting comparisons are drawn. There are in fact many similarities.

Pearls Of Ignorance

Somebody made a statement today that showed me the prevalence in flawed thinking in the general population. Flawed thinking and ignorance - and what a potent pair they make indeed. People who probably do not even know one person who falls within the GLBTI spectrum, nor knows anything about them beyond the standard rhetoric in circulation out there telling people how "wrong" it is to be gay or that it is some kind of "sinful lifestyle choice" are advocating anti-gay measures and even taking an anti-GLBT stance in politics, ostensibly in the interests of what they call "morality".

What did they say? Well, here it is, folks:

"There is certainly a logical link between homosexuality, incest and beastiality and other deviant behaviour".

Huh?

Where on earth do these people get their facts from?